(LibertySociety.com) – The family of a 9-year-old Kansas City Chiefs fan named Holden Armeta has taken legal action against the media outlet Deadspin for defaming the young boy in an article and online. A reporter for the outlet named Carron Phillips posted an article on X, formerly Twitter, claiming the boy was racist for wearing face paint while attending a Chiefs game.
The thumbnail featured for the article showed one side of the boy’s face, which was painted black. It gave the appearance that the boy was wearing blackface, despite the other side of his face being painted red. The boy was also wearing a Native American headdress, which is common attire at a Chief’s game. The boy was also filmed doing the signature tomahawk chop during the game.
The family is represented by Clare Locke LLP and has demanded the outlet retract the story and apologize. The letter said that deleting the tweet or removing the story from the outlet’s website was not sufficient. The family intends to pursue additional legal actions against the news outlet, its publisher, and Great Hill Partners.
The young boy’s mother tagged and blasted the outlet in a Facebook post, stating that her son is Native American. His grandfather belongs to the Chumash Tribe and sits on its board in Santa Ynez, California. Despite users pointing out that there was nothing wrong with the boy’s attire, Phillips continued his criticism. In a follow-up post, he said that the people who believed the boy’s attire was not racist and argued that the boy’s face being painted half-red “makes it even worse.” He equated his costume to people who are prejudiced against Mexicans but don sombreros on Cinco de Mayo.
Trending Politics co-owner Collin Rugg posted the video of the boy doing the Tomahawk chop, noting that the Chief’s players took notice and joined him. Other users called him a bully and accused him of trying to ruin the young boy’s life.
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